OU football: Granger thriving despite injury

"Very unselfish, and I never asked him what his motivation was,” defensive coordinator Brent Venables said. "But I think he wanted to be here for his teammates.

"He’s played well. We’ve been really pleased with his progress, considering it takes time to get back to form.”

Granger’s return to form hasn’t just been physical.

After being sent home from the Fiesta Bowl, he realized it was time to grow up.

"It was a mistake. I apologized. I’m happy to be playing at this university," Granger said. "I feel like I’ve grown as a man, as a student, all around.

"You go to college to grow and that’s what I feel like I’ve been doing.”

That hasn’t been lost on his teammates.

"The best way I can describe it is, he’s a man now,” Taylor said. "A lot of people don’t understand how serious that incident was for him. I think he’s using it to his advantage. His mindset is different. He’s making the best of it on the field as well as in his regular life. He’s definitely playing harder this year. When something happens like that, you have to move forward and that’s what he is doing.